Ask if you think you’re underpaid

Q: After completing an online salary survey, I realized that I am seriously underpaid. I would apparently need a 14 percent increase to reach the average pay for my position. I was too terrified to mention this during my performance review, and I’ve now learned that my raise this year will only be 4 percent.

Since finishing college three years ago, I have worked for this company as a software developer. My manager says that I have made a significant contribution to improving our products. As far as I know, the business is doing well, so is it unreasonable to ask him to bring my pay up to average?

A: There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking to be paid appropriately. But before jumping to conclusions based on limited data, you should check the accuracy of your assumptions.

Although online surveys can be useful for broad comparisons, these salary websites vary greatly in the amount and type of data they collect. Many local factors will influence that determination.

So before concluding that you are due a 14 percent pay bump, ask your human resources manager how salaries are determined. Do not inquire about how much your co-workers are making. Simply explain that you would like to understand the decision-making process.

If developer jobs are classified at different pay grades, find out what qualifications cause them to be ranked higher or lower. Ask about the salary range for your own pay grade and determine where you fall.

If the above paragraph makes no sense to you, familiarize yourself with compensation terminology before having this conversation. Then, if you continue to believe you are underpaid, screw up your courage and make a logical case for a raise.